Improvement in gas-engines



y UNITED STATES '1D,.rrrENT4 EE-:rcE

FRIEDRICH W. GILLES, OF KALK, lNEAR COLOGNE, GERMANY.

IMPROVEMENT IN GAS-ENGINES.`

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 179,782, dated July 1l, 1876i application filed.

AMay 1e, 1876.

To all whom-it may concern Be itfknown that I, FRIEDRICH WILHELM GILLES, ofl Kalk, near Cologne, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Gas-Engines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had totheaccompanying drawing, which forms part of this specification.

This invent-ion relates to engines for obtaining motive power by the explosive combustion of gas and' air, and has for its objects, or certain of them, the working of the engine withv but littley or Ano noise, and at a reduced cost, together with great `simplicity as regards construction of the engine and facility of repair.

The invention especiallgT relates to a combination'ofpartswhereby thepressure produced by the ignition of an' explosive gaseous mix-.

ture in the cylinder of the engine is applied to propel two-pistons in opposite directionsthat is to say, a working piston and a loose piston, thev former of which is connected by crank with a driving-shaft, and the latter of which is free, but is temporarily held by a clamp after vits propulsion by the explosiouof the gaseous compound, to secure the return action of the working piston under atmospheric pressure as against a reduced pressure between the two pistons, thereby obtaining a motive power vfor the working-piston in both directions of its stroke;

The invention consists in a peculiar construction and combination of` devices for clamping and releasing the free piston in timely relationv with the working or driving an arrangement by wayof simplifyingexpla-` nation; but so far as allrpractical purposesare concerned,lsai`d engine may occupya lhorizontal` orany other suitable position without departing from the invention.

A is the b'edplate,'onf which-is erected the main frame of the engine, B is an elongated enginecylinder, mounted on themain frame, and freely open=at its lower end. H is the lower and working or driving piston, arranged to= reciprocate within' `the cylinder B, and coupled by avconnecting-rod, b,- witlr a crank, K, of a drivin g-shat't, l, onawrhichis any-wheel, J. L is thel upper or loose piston, also ar# ranged to reciprocatew-ithinthe cylinder B,

and provided wit-h-fafrod,.c, which passes up through the top of the cylinder, and through two friction cheeks on clamps, l l, for-med bya longitudinally divided bush, which clamps theA rod c in between it. These clampsfare freely mountedon--a lever or levers, m, and are so constructed with notches, inclines, or steps, and controlled bysprings u n, enter-ing at an upwardlyincliningangle'within or bearing on the notched surface of'the clamps, that while the clamps admit of thefreemovement of thepiston-rodl'c, when traveling in an upward direction between them,` they hold or restrain it and the'piston Li'romfmovingdownward by tightly embracing the rod c'until the clamps are relieved`v by the action of a cam, Ol, onthe main shaft I, by or through the intervention of `a rod, d, which,V when raised, lifts thelevers m and pushes upward the clamps l l, thus 4relieving the piston-rod and allowing thev piston to descend. This libera tion or release of the clamps occursat a cer-l tain point in each revolution of the crank-y shaft. v

"affected, arecontrolled bya gas slide-valve,

D', arranged to work within the chamber D,

and constructed `with cavities or passages j) y 'thrqugh it. Said valve also carries the burner i, andis Aoperated by a cam, O, on the driving-shaft I, through a rod, e', as againsta Spring, f.

Arranged somewhat higher up the cylinder B,than the valve-chamber D is a valve-cham ber, N, providedA with a valve, N', opening outward for the discharge ot' products ofcombustion from the cylinder by a main passage, W, and a subsidiary passage, Q, the latter passage havingits capacity for discharge controlled by a regulating-screw, s.

rlhe operation of the engine is as follows Assuming the working piston H to have reached the extreme of its inward or up stroke, the piston L then being close to it, as shown in Fig. l, the former piston, H, by the rotation of the crank K, is drawn down or outward, and the loose piston L,baeked by pressure of the atmosphere entering through an opening in top ot' the cylinder, follows the workingpiston H till the loose piston L checked at the extremity of its down-stroke by a stop, i', 0n its rod coming in contact with an upper frame on the top ot' the cylinder. as shown in Fig. 2. The working-piston H, continuing its downward movement, creates a partial vacuum behind it, in the space between it and the loose piston L. As, however, this begins to take place, the cam O moves the gas-slide D', so as to admit into this space between the two pistons, from the receiving-passage p of said valve, the gaseous mixture, and during the further rapid movement of said valve exposes the kindling-tlame of the burner t to the gaseous mixture in the cylinder through the passage a., whereby the mixture is ex; ploded.

The pressure produced by the explosion forces still further downward or onward the working-piston H, and at the same time causes the loose piston L to make a rapid stroke in an upward or opposite direction, the air in the space at back ot' theloose piston being discharged through the head or top ofthe engine-cylinder. When the loose piston at the extreme of its top stroke enters and closes by aprojection on it this air-opening in the head of the cylinder, the inclosed air serves a-s a cushion to check the loose piston, a springvalve being used Vin addition, it' desired, to provide for a slow escape of the compressed air.

down or outward stroke, and the loose piston L having also completed its up or outward stroke, and' the gas-slide D having closed the passage ce, or space between the two pistons,

The working-piston H having completed its pressure, but the loose piston is held nea r the extreme of its out-stroke by the friction cheeks or clamps l l, hereinbef'ore referred to, the ingress of air at the back ot' it being checked.

When the working-piston H is approaching the extremity of its iii-stroke, the clamps l l are released by the action of the cam 0' from hold ofthe loose piston L, and the dischargevalve N is opened. This causes the loose piston L to make a rapid stroke inward till it nearly meets the working-piston H, as shown in Fig. 1, and the products of coinbustion compressed between the two pistons are forced out by the passage W through the discharge-valve N', after which the action is repeated, as before. The subsidiary passage Q, arra/nged a little below the passage W, provides for the escape of any remaining products of combustion between the two pistons after the passage W has been stopped by the loose piston, and the screw s, controlling suchfsubsidiary passage Q, serves to regulate such" escape and to retard thev same, as re-v quired, whereby a vbuffer-like action is produced'between the two pistons.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the engine is double-acting, a portion of the out-stroke ofthe working-piston being effected by the pressure incidental to the explosion of the gaseous mixture between the pistons, and its iii-stroke by the excess of the atmospheric pressure over that of the` products of combustion.

Two or more engines may be connected to vone driving-shaft, so as to diminish irregularities of action.

By placing the engine-cylinder in an uprigh position, the weight of the working-piston is made available to assist the out-stroke of the latter, and the loose piston is assisted by its weight in its iii-stroke.

1n connection with the gas-valve D is a regulating pump or device, R, which, by means ot' a lever, g, between stops on the rod e', is worked by the same cam, O, which operates the gasvalve D. The piston or ,sucker k of this pump draws in and expels a certain amount of liquid at each revolution of the engine-shaft. lf the engine be running too fast, all the liquid drawn in cannot be expelled. This causes the liever g to be lifted and hold and raise'the rod c and Valve D', so that a new charge of gas cannot be given until the speed of the engine has been reduced.

I claiml. The combination, with the free piston L of the engine and its rod c, of the clamp or clamps l, the lever m, controlled by the cam or eccentric O of the engine, and the inclined springs n, arranged to bear the clamps against the rod c, to hold the piston L from moving inward, excepting when the clamps are specially released for the purpose, but admitting of the free movement of said rod in the outward stroke of seid piston, essentially In testimony that I claim the foregoing I as described. have hereunto set my hand this 30th day of 2. The combination, with the ges-valve D', August, 1875.

of the pump R, the pump-operating lever g,

controlled by stops on the vnlverod e', and FRIEDRICH WILHELM GILLES. the Gain O, by which motion is eomln'unicated to both the valve and the pump7 substanti'ftily as and for the purposes herein set forth.

Witnesses MAX WARREN, HIENR. FRINGs. 

